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Jefferson designs a skylight The extent to which Jefferson Involved himself In the details of the design and construction of his house Is nowhere more evident than In a letter he wrote to one of his c Poplar Forest. A photo of the original letter Is shown at right, and the modernized text appears below. arpe 32112 In. The Inside faces of the girders and trimmers must be planed. On the north and south sides of these girders, lap on gutter Joist dovetail. These gutter Joists must project over the walls 2 In. They are lO in. by 8 In., admitting gutters 4 In. wide, and 2 In. margin. They wlll be 291,7 In. from center to center. Then on these two girders lay two others 4 In. by 6 In. On these upper girders lap the ridge-Joists, dovetail, letting them project 3 In. over the wall. Slope both ridge and gutter Joists from end to end 6 In. from each comer of the skylight to the corresponding comer of the wall, lay on a hlp-ridge rafter, and from these hips and trimmers lay rafters towards east and west. On the north. and south ends the rooflets � are to be. The molding which masks the ends of the rooflets Is to be nailed to the ends of the ridge Joists, which projecting 1 In. more than the gutter Joists, leaves space for the water to pass off. For the flat roof over the hall [dining room] at Poplar Forest, let the skylight run from east to west, 16 panes long and only the length of two panes wide. Groove the upper ends of the panes 112 In. Into the ridge bar, and let the lower end lap l in. on the lower bar. The ridge bar of the sash (if In one piece) must be 2 In. sq., but if In two pieces they must be 1 In. by 3 In.; and the lower bar or rail of the sash 4 In. wide, and the end stile of the sash 4 In. wide for the frame. Lay two girders, 10 In. by 4 In., across the walls from east to west. Let them be 30112 In. apart and project 3 In. beyond the walls. Tenon two cross trimmers Into these girders 8 ft. 2 In. from the center. The clear opening of e skylight wlll then be 16 ft. 4 In. by b-Ku. ft-Jc..� tnx/㶇莢 Hv.-HJl � p�r;:-�. �� � Hu.. �{{ # 2.p nters, probably John Hemming, at o,-r㶇莢�I1a�� �/. J.d'A u.,..�� J,(,... �-,b-wrdj Hu. �o.kh(1 � rf.�rn.u㶇 � *1.J'�1. f!d ��f�. �����tZ;Wut. l6.pA/Yll-d �. ,� � U{'fWr �f JIu.?M\A. i 9. vn4 � � tM' 'VHU I ��/tm 'l..� ��kl,9,� 33. � � s� A,g.�. I1u ltv.. r..�'1CWll� c!)JIu.-.sf-v(�1.J, /ftU/1vvr. � 16-,(. � :32i 11\9. I e'Y't㶇莢㭨၀' 2., ttA-ffwm Ix �2� R.ILI-㶇 "l..?� an 1-{1㶇莢㭨 t r-r11v- �. �rnm\£M '-rt It'k fu-.eA cp I� d�NA� V �.� 1 & 5 (nJh UkM IJ � � {Of em 11vv). iTh {Ita 0'}'㶇莢 �� . ��;1 �.2. . dt./Y㶇 4 f", b J. Jecr;a 6d ft-trm Q().<..h I� jufkv㶇莢 J�"t4 14 NYc. J� � JIUd㶇 u � -f\fP㶇 �ru::.IY O'h h\. tTl{㶇莢 of the interrelated Cobb-Hutter family for more than 100 years. In 1946, Mr. and Mrs. James Watts bought the house and lived in it until 1979. In 1983, a group of concerned individuals organized themselves into the Corporation for Jefferson's Poplar Forest with the purpose of protecting and restoring a national treasure. They bought the house and 49.5 acres of land for $927,400. In April of 1985, the corporation purchased another 255 acres for $859,000 to keep the adjacent land from being developed. Photo courtesy Thomas Jefferson Papers, University of Virginia Library Jf\.㶇莢㭨 1. J4. JrcJ..,.M €fi.p 11..0- -/rftA0, o/.-㶇莢㭨၀Xl.. I Ji t!.. be 237 J. /tJ. tyE?J. � � kJ 10- PftLd4 f Hut.. rtntj.6;t㶇 � � k fI� Hv- � � JI}IJ;.㶇 fht. � 1i I'MI fl. lfuu� }ups � �-�rrvn'-er㶇 � �� t� Wfl Wut. t;;-� . 'I &tv-J㶇莢㭨 � Hv. )( rrA1㶇莢㭨V s� Restoration-Restoration work at Poplar Forest has not begun yet. However, preparations are presently being made by the Corporation. As of January, 1987, its board has raised $2.4 million of the estimated $5 million required to restore the main building and the grounds. This estimate includes money to acquire more of the land surrounding Poplar Forest. Once underway, the major part of the restora- tion will take about five years. But a complete restoration, on the order of what has been done at Monticello, could take decades. D Photo courtesy Thomas Jefferson Papers, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library erf\㶇 'm4L㶇 Q/'t㶇莢㭨.<M I/1v㶇莢 rt7T㶇莢.tZ4 E. f em 0�p-n��--r1tw, ().I.,,:;) � �. dA � Hu.."'�itrl㶇莢㭨၀1 tiJu㶇莢㭨.p'>-t㶇莢;;;t..� I.J. Kurt Albaugh is a consulting engineer and freelance writer based in Sacramento, Calif. Special thanks to Lynn Beebe and her staff at Poplar Forest and to Bill Beiswanger, architectural historian at Monticello, for their generous and considerable help in preparing this article. Poplar Forest is open to the public from early June until the end of October, and the house is open by appointment year round for group tours. For additional information, contact The Corporation for Jefferson 's Poplar Forest, P. O. Box 419, Forest, Va. 24551; (804) 525-1806. October/November 1987 79 17Yn-/�r)?>.? .ov� C . � 'lAd㶇 okf 1a Ifu.. c.cn-r㶇莢p� U/n c l'�d㶇莢. � �� '. 1. c..c-r ��;1A.J (Jlc㶇)J2.J,�. tflJ㶇莢 � � '2. .J. S I fUA-f㶇莢. Vrc:lu㶇莢 �h I..t, Wf.,'t frO/㶇莢 O"Y" 'Y� I � s (U h A .9. trti㶇莢㭨 . 3. 9. � � � fTW.㶇莢1 � FT\I1㶇.d.. :j'.㶇莢㭨၀"ien㶇莢㭨 '2 ;I� c. em e/) �fA.& ",:i..tb .